For this special one-off walking tour, I’ll be joined by Martin Zero - the Manchester-based YouTuber known for exploring hidden, forgotten and hard-to-reach parts of the city’s past.
This extended version of the walk will last around 3 hours rather than the usual 2, giving us extra time for Martin to share stories, photographs and observations from his own explorations of Manchester’s hidden history. We’ll also include a short comfort break roughly halfway through the tour.
We’ll begin at Hanging Ditch, close to the line of one of Manchester’s early watercourses, before crossing Hanging Bridge and entering the city’s Medieval Quarter… the area where Manchester began to take shape after the Romans.
From the Cathedral and Chetham’s to Long Millgate, the old schools, the Corn Exchange and the former Market Place, we’ll look for the buildings, fragments, street names and stories that still reveal traces of medieval Manchester.
Along the way, we’ll explore how this small but important part of the city has been repeatedly reshaped by trade, religion, learning, Victorian growth, the railways and modern redevelopment, before finishing near Shambles Square, where two of Manchester’s best-known historic pubs now stand, and where their relocation tells its own story of change.
Throughout the walk, Martin will join the conversation with stories, photographs and observations from his own explorations of Manchester’s hidden history, adding another layer to the places we pass and the traces of the city that are still visible today.
Please note: this is a street-level walking tour. We will not be entering any underground spaces, tunnels, closed buildings, restricted areas or any of the locations Martin has explored. The route is the same public walking route as the regular tour, with Martin joining us as a special guest to share his stories, photographs and experiences along the way.
A 3-hour walking tour around the oldest district of Manchester city centre.